Administration d’actifs

Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, has transitioned its Luxembourg offices to a more expansive space in the Vertigo Polaris Building, demonstrating a solid commitment to its European operations in the Grand Duchy. The inauguration of the new location was marked by a special event on Wednesday, graced by the presence of Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, and Blackstone’s CFO, Michael Chae.

Luxembourg-based fund services firm Fuchs Asset Management, which saw its parent company enter liquidation in July, is embarking on a new chapter through a strategic partnership with Trustmoore, a fund services company headquartered in Amsterdam.

This week’s overview of transfers and appointments includes appointments at Apex Group and at EY.

Stephen Geddes

Stephen Geddes (photo) has been appointed as regional head for the United Kingdom at global asset services provider Apex Group.  He joined Apex from Mainspring Fund Services, where he was the founder and CEO. Apex acquired Mainspring in September last year.

FE fundinfo, a Luxembourg-based specialist in fund information, has announced the acquisition of Paris-based firm Adjuto. The move aims to bolster its fee and distribution channel management solutions. Financial details were not disclosed.

La législation à venir, qui pose des défis à l’industrie de la distribution de fonds - notamment l’ajout d’exigences en matière de rapports et l’augmentation des coûts - sera au cœur de la Global Distribution Conference de l’Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, connue sous le nom d’Alfi, qui se tiendra mercredi. «La distribution reste la clé du succès de l’industrie de la gestion d’actifs», a déclaré Steven Libby, associé et leader Emea AWM chez PwC et membre du conseil d’administration de l’Alfi, qui agira en tant que maître de cérémonie lors de l’événement de mercredi.

Global financial services provider Apex Group on Monday announced the initiation of its business operations in South Korea. The move aims to offer extensive solutions to global asset management clients and solidifies the  firm’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Chantal Free has been appointed at the new chief executive officer at Ocorian, a global asset services provider that also is present in Luxembourg.

Free joins Ocorian from Capita where she was CEO of their portfolio division, leading a portfolio of businesses across a range of sectors including insurance, legal, consulting and technology. Previously she spent 23 years at Willis Towers Watson, the global risk and people consulting and brokerage firm, where she held several senior roles in Asia and Europe.

Animated movies. German real estate. Trade finance. Polish mortgages. Industrial lasers. Environmental intelligence. Pharmaceutical services. More than 1.5 billion euro has been invested in the Luxembourg-domiciled alternative investment funds under the wings of Fuchs Asset Management. Its AIFM portfolio presents a small microcosm of alternative investments managed via the Grand Duchy. The manco is for sale after its parent company, Fuchs & Associes, entered liquidation last month. Jean-Jacques Lava, deputy-CEO at Fuchs AM, said the sale process is going according to plan.

Ciaran Fitzpatrick of State Street Institutional Services paints a vibrant picture of the evolving landscape for Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Across the investment world, the move from active to passive is not just a trend but a shift that is being felt across retail and institutional investments, largely due to persistent pressure on costs. Ireland and Luxembourg present different appeals to new issuers.

Apex Group, a global financial services provider with a significant presence in Luxembourg, on Monday said it agreed to acquire Axess Accounting Office, a provider of corporate tax services for real estate and private equity firms in Japan. Financial details were not disclosed.